Dr Catriona Bonfiglioli is the 2021 Anne Dunn Scholar
By Fiona Martin
July 11, 2021
The 2021 winner of the Anne Dunn award is Dr Catriona Bonfiglioli, Senior Lecturer in Media Studies at the University of Technology, Sydney.
Catriona is one of that rare breed of journalists, like Anne, who move from industry to academe and carve out successful research careers. After 15 years in journalism, Catriona enrolled in a PhD to investigate genetics in the news, and decided to become an academic. She has pioneered the analysis of news about obesity and physical activity, first at the NSW Centre for Overweight and Obesity and then through her ARC Discovery Project ‘Changing the media diet – Investigating the power of the news media to prevent obesity’ (DP1096251). She is now studying the ethics of reporting the pandemic. Catriona has published in journalism and medical journals and she teaches journalism studies, media studies and health and science communication. She has served on the Public Health Association’s NSW Committee since 2001, the UTS Human Research Ethics Committee since 2011, and is a former President and Treasurer of the Australian Medical Writers Association.
The judges said: Catriona has excelled in her transition to academia from journalism, starting with a Reuters medical journalism fellowship and building an impressive record of solo and collaborative publications. She has a strong track record in securing competitive grants, in international networking, and in health communications and media studies research for the public good. Importantly, during the pandemic she developed a guide for journalists reporting the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In her outstanding commitment to media ethics education and ongoing industry linkages she clearly commemorates the aims and spirit of Anne Dunn’s work.
The Award was established in 2014 to commemorate the life and work of a much-valued colleague – Professor Anne Dunn from the University of Sydney. The $3000 award is jointly supported by the Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia (JERAA), the Australian and New Zealand Communication Association (ANZCA), and Anne’s siblings and mother. It recognises excellence in research about the fields of communications or journalism, including – but not limited to – broadcast media for the public benefit. We welcome applications from scholars who can demonstrate a body of work befitting this award. More information about past winners, and this special award, can be found at https://jeraa.org.au/the-anne-dunn-scholar/.
